Press Release/18 March 2010  The Department of Health (DOH) today disclosed that almost half of the Filipinos surveyed in the first Philippine Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) revealed that they live in homes where smoking is allowed.  In coordination with the National Statistics Office, a total of 9,705 individuals in rural and urban areas of the country 15 years of age and older (to represent 61.3 million Filipinos) were selected and interviewed in 2009. Of this number, 28.3% were current tobacco smokers, representing 17.3 million Filipinos and 22.5% or approximately 13.8 million Filipinos smoke every day. The average age of initiation for daily smokers 18-34 years old was 17.4 years old. The GATS data revealed that almost half (48.8% or 29.8 million) of Filipinos are exposed to cigarette smoke in their homes and 54% (32.9 million) reported that someone smokes at least monthly in their homes. The knowledge, attitude and perception of the respondents that smoking causes serious illness were very high at 94%; 95.6% believe that smoking can cause lung cancer, heart attack (81.3%) and stroke (75.5%). read more

Press Release/16 February 2010 The Department of Health (DOH) clarified today that the condoms given last Valentine’s weekend were not meant to promote artificial contraception, but rather a reminder to the public of the importance of responsible sexual behavior in combating the threat of HIV/AIDS. The Ingat Lagi, My Valentine campaign, which was held last February 13 at the Dangwa Flower Market in Manila , has received criticism from the Catholic Church for supposedly being “immoral”. The DOH, reiterating the words of Deputy Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Saludo, explained that the condom distribution should not be construed as a signal that the government is advocating sexual licentiousness. The free condoms were just a tool of a creative campaign aimed at promoting awareness on HIV/AIDS prevention at a most opportune time – Valentine’s Day. read more

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral (3rd from left) giving detailed instructions to Health Emergency Management Staff Director Dr. Carmencita Banatin (2nd from left) on the deployment of a medical team to Haiti. The 21-member team will be composed of general and orthopedic surgeons, internists, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, nurses, epidemiologists, psychiatrists, and sanitary engineers. Also in photo are Health Assistant Secretary Elmer Punzalan and Undersecretary Mario Villaverde.